Corporate Food Donations Soar Thanks to Corporate Kitchens

In 2015, the Atlanta Community Food Bank asked if Second Helpings Atlanta (SHA) would take over food donations from Cox Enterprise’s corporate kitchens. We said yes and haven’t looked back!

Cox—the Atlanta-based media, communications, and automotive company—quickly became a major source of large, high-quality food donations for SHA. We sought out additional corporations and now have a thriving Corporate Kitchen food rescue program with 13 companies on board. They include Cox Enterprises, Cox Manheim, Cox Technology, Autotrader, Fiserv, LexisNexis, Piedmont Hospital, General Electric, ADP, Federal Reserve, Alston & Bird, Ernst & Young and Northside Hospital, our newest corporate food donor. We expect several new corporate food donors to join in the coming months.

The Corporate Kitchen food rescue program has been a true game-changer for SHA Partner Agencies like Malachi’s Storehouse. Surplus food from company cafeterias and dining facilities is a reliable source of fresh, nutritious food that supports their community meal programs.

The benefits go even further. When the executive chef at Fiserv told employees about the company’s focus on rescuing surplus food, many showed up for work the next day pumped up about packing food for SHA volunteers to pick up. Some even drew hearts on the packages and wrote “We love you, SHA!”

We’re excited to announce that Tom Mahaffey, President/CEO of the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce, and his team at Leadership Sandy Springs are helping SHA expand the corporate kitchen food rescue program in Sandy Springs. The Chamber is sending out mailers, making calls and visiting potential CK participants on our behalf. We’ll replicate the best practices they develop in other parts of the city. Thanks so much, Tom and team!

In other news, our food totals have sky-rocketed in recent months. We’ve gone from delivering 5 million pounds in May, 2016, to 6 million pounds in less than 9 months! A huge shout out to the more than 380 SHA Volunteers who make a difference in our community every day by Driving Out Hunger One Mile at a Time!